2014

Tastemotions

Cooking & Wine Experience

Tastemotions Delight your senses

Food & Wine In Villa Daniela Grossi

When one thinks of Tuscany one reflexively thinks of the artistry that

flowed from the works of Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Puccini.

These masters unlocked our senses and fueled our passions, aspirations and

hunger for more and greater things. Tuscany has another form of artistic

expression - something we might argue even fuels our collective passions

even more - and this is the art of Tuscan cuisine.

This art form drives our very essence as it inspires our senses and drives

our emotions.

Like a potent aphrodisiac, our cuisine seduces and inspires us to love. The

famous saying 'the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach' is an

understatement as our cuisine is a passion of love and discovery as is

constantly evolves leading us towards a gastronomical Nirvana!

The secret of our Tuscan Cuisine is and always will be its simplicity. It

follows the age old traditions of using the freshest local ingredients,

respecting the seasonality and creating appetizing delights using only a

few carefully selected ingredients and then adding just the right amount of

feeling, through choice seasonings - this is not something precisely

measured in a weight, instead it comes from an instinct and a feeling, and

accounts at the same time to personal taste. This style of cooking should

appeal and inspire everyone.

We are happy and fortunate to live in a land with an abundance of

natural ingredients. From sea food and fish, meats and cheeses, olive oil

and wine, porcini mushrooms and fresh vegetables, farro and beans,

freshly grown garden herbs, homemade pasta and breads.

We are excited to share with you our love and passion for the Tuscan cuisine, wine and culture in the beauty of one of the most beautiful villas

in the rolling hills of Lucca!

Chef Sommelier Pestritu George Valentin Laudat Larisa Lavinia

Saturday Arrive to this

historical villa set

on the slopes of the

hills near Lucca

since the 17th century.

This enchanting property is Villa Daniela Grossi owned by the

Grossi/Cervelli family since 1995. This property, once a monastery,

preserves all the charm and character of a historic residence with its

antique furniture, frescoed walls and large Italian garden overlooking the

splendid panorama of the surrounding countryside.

Your Chef and Sommelier

are delighted to introduce

you to your home during the

cooking itinerary .

Having the joy of preparing your own Italian

lunch or dinner under the watchful eye of

your Chef, from appetizers to desserts. Learn

new kitchen techniques and special tips,

delight in new flavors and aromas and relish

the relaxing and fun atmosphere.

Your culinary experience will not be complete

without being paired with wines choose for

you to taste meal by meal. Enjoying a glass of

wine through our senses and tactile sensations,

getting to know the territory where is

produced and creating new friendships.

Sunday - Discover the reality that surround us

In the morning visit one of the historical villas of the

Lucchese area with a tour of the gardens and the villa at

just five minutes walking distance from your home

away from home. Villa Torrigiani which is one of the

most opulent and spectacular in the whole Lucca area,

dates back to the mid-16th century. The “Garden of

Flora" is the clearest example of Lucchese taste, an

amusing and surprising ensemble of grottoes, nymph temples, flowers,

masks, secret water games, all

intended to make you feel as if you

were in a fairy-tale..

After seeing this arhitectural gem

we are going to stop in a local

winery in the nearby medieval city

of Montecarlo for winery tour. The

owners will delight us with their

wine and olive oil obtained through organic agriculture . The Montecarlo

area has an old tradition regarding white wines production that for more

than a century partecipated to many galla tables, made with grapes such

as vermentino, roussane, semillon, sauvignon and pinot blanc but also the

well known chardonnay. In the last 10-15 years the red varieties such as

sangiovese, merlot, cabernet and syrah are showing the vocation for

viticulture of this teritory.

Cooking school lesson: Get started

with the cooking, speaking about

extra virgin olive oil, understanding

through tasting the different

varieties of olives and knead it with

durum flour to obtain your own

fresh pasta.

Monday – Explore Chianti area and San Gimignano

Departure for Chianti that is an area of

300 square kilometers of pure Tuscany,

situated in the center between Florence

and Siena. A truly unending source of

culture, humanity, scenery, architecture,

gastronomy and wines. Entirely hilly

covered in serried rows of vines, green

forests or stony meadowland with olive

groves, fortresses , parish churches and castles.

On clear days you can see forever, on misty

days the light filter the colors and the

objects as though through a smoky silk veil,

and one seems to be leaving

in a Renaissance landscape.

Amazing wines are produced in this district from four

special grapes: Sangiovese and Canaiolo ( black) and the

Malvasia and Trebbiano ( white).

Visit the city of Greve in Chianti considered the gate of

Chianti area with a characteristic square, little shops and

sample Tuscan meats inside a very old and traditional

butcher shop ownede by the 8th generation: Macelleria

Falorni. Don’t miss to taste the flavors of “cinta senese”

pork.

We are going to tour, wine taste and have

lunch at the Verazzano Castle dated back in

the 14th century known of being the birth place

of the family

Verrazzano. Giovanni

da Verrazzano,

celebrated navigator and discoverer of the bay of

New York and the majority of the East Coast of

America,was borne here in 1485.New York’s bridge!

The towers of San Gimignano are the emblem of medieval Tuscany, ancient

symbols of power. The whole historic center is an Unesco heritage and still

today it is considered one of the best examples in Europe of urban

organization during the Age of the Communes . It is borne on the ruins of

an Etruscan village and had a

strategic position on Via

Francigena since 998.

Along with the amazing views , the ceramic and

terracotta’s shops are making our eyes to sparkle with

unique pieces of artisan work, all entirely handmade

and painted.

Feast your eyes and your taste buds at one of the world’s best gourmet

sights that is a member of the Gelato World Championship. Among the

traditional flavors are unusual combinations such as rosemary-scented

raspberries or pink grapefruit and sparkling wine.

The saffron here has a long history and as

the legend say it the famous towers of

Middle Ages were

built upon the profit

made by selling it.

This “red gold” it is a

certified product

allowed to be cultivated just in this small Sienese

province. Enjoy your risotto tonight! And learn to

master the preparation technique during your

cooking class lesson and end your day with one of

the most well-known dessert- Tiramisù. We promise

that will pick-you-up!

Tuesday – History, Art and Gastronomy of Lucca

Lovely Lucca is a pearl of a city hidden behind

Rennaisance walls that allows you to view the

bell tours of the churches ( Lucca is named also

The City of the 100 churches), the red brick roofs,

palace gardens and cobbled streets of the historic

center, but also the imposing villas outside the

walls. Home of Giacomo Puccini its medieval

character is preserved until today. Your steps will

lead you to the Roman Amphitheatre long ago

mined for building stones and nowadays a quiet

piazza.

City of wealthy silk merchants that were

investing their profits into the “Fattorias” ,with

a long history around the table enjoying wine

and food, gives us the opportunity today to sip a

glass of wine in the oldest wine cellar of the

historic center and two generation

knowledgeable choices of wines.

Sampling of local gourmet food in a historical

shop-kingdom of taste and flavors enrich our

gastronomic culture through the passion for

excellence for “delicatezze”. The rolled pancetta

of the Lucchesia is made with locally grown pigs,

layers of fat and lean meat are seasoned with a

paste made from garlic, pepper and rosemary. Used in cooking will enrich

many dishes as beans and game. The pork sausage is a series of irregular

shape cylindrical links of 7-9 cm. This Italian sausage from Lucchesia is

consumed in short period of time after production in 4-5 days.

The cuisine of Lucca is a balance of tastes divided

in preparations of strong, decided flavors from the

inland and more delicate flavors of the seaside

cuisine. Is a large variety of soups as Minestrone

prepared with seasonal vegies and garden

aromatic herbs and pastas dressed with superb

Ragù aromatized with bay leaves and cloves, that we are going to prepare

during today cooking class lesson . Together with a nutmeg besciamelle

sauce and layers of fresh pasta will become a unique dish of Lasagna.

Buccellato is a sweet aromatized bread with loaf

shape or ring shape. Typical lucchese dessert that

among the ingredients have the raisin and the

anice seeds that gives the particular flavor. We do

have the saying. “For those who visit Lucca and

don’t eat buccellato, it’s as if they have never

visited at all!”

In the basket with vegetables, Lucca has the

cardoon ( cardo) cooked on gratin or “ in

umido”; the cale ( cavolo nero- locally called

“braschetta”) for soups; the classic lucchese

onions used for “pinzimonio” raw vegies and

also ingredient for soups, pastas and in sauté.

The Lucchese area has many types of beans

such as : Cannellini beans from San Ginese, the

red bean- due to its texture and intense flavor it is used as a base for farro

soup, the schiaccione beans from Pietrasanta, scritto beans and stringa

beans.

The taste in the Lucchese kitchen is given by the intense use in dishes

preparation of its extra virgin olive oil DOP ( protected designation of

origin).

Wednesday- The North part of Lucca-Garfagnana area

Departure for Garfagnana to meet the local

producers for taste, shop and learn how the

local pecorino cheese, salami and Tuscan

prosciutto are made. Surrounded on East side

by the Apuane Alps famous for its Carrara

marble, North part by Lunigiana and East

by the Apennins rolling down towards

Modena, is an area with unique flavors

linked to the tradition, culture and above all

the people that live here. Mountain farming

for cheese and fine meats , corn and farro-

the most ancient cereal present today,

cultivated in its country of origin , the Middle East since 7000

years B.C. , flavored porcini mushrooms, chestnuts flour.

The pecorino cheese from Garfagnana is produced with sheep

milk, fed with the rich grasses of the mountain

areas. Can be eaten fresh or aged in every courses,

as a starter in antipasto toscano or grated on top of

pastas and in baked vegetables pies and can also be

served as dessert with honey, pears, dried fruits

and mustard marmalades.

Castelnuovo is the principal town, situated in the

heart of the green Garfagnana area cross by the

Serchio River. Since 872 the town is

defended by walls and castles , and you

can absorb the medieval essence of the

town step by step. It’s not just an slow

food area but also a slow tourism town.

A typical dessert, called “ castagnaccio” is made

from the chestnut flour with the almost sweet

taste( locally called sweet polenta) and who could

afford it was putting on top pine nuts, raisin and

orange zest. We are going to afford it during now

days cooKing class lesson!

The flour once considered the

principle food of the poor’s is used also to

make a type of baked pancakes called

“necci”, but also for biscuits and pastries.

Prosciutto Bazzone from Valle del Serchio has

the origins in 1800s. Since 2004 has been part of

the Slow Food movement and is still produced in

the same way as old farming traditions. The

prosciutto is seasoned with salt, pepper, spices,

laurel , garlic and is aged between 20 to 36

months in stone tubs (pozza), just after that

period of time being ready to eat. It is typically

an elongated shape with a border of 4-5 cm

called “ bazza” which is how it got its name.

As in the times of our grandparents, local cow

farms raise animals using traditional

techniques, often grazing in the wild. Bovine

meat from Garfagnana has its identification

certificate and has to be displayed separate

from other cuts.

Thursday- Visit the King and Queens of Italy

Parmigiano Reggiano

Prosciutto di Parma and Modena’s balsamic vinegar

If you are fond in the Italian cuisine

you cannot miss this journey to

discover how true gastronomic gems

are made. Seeing the traditional

processing techniques with your own

eyes at the Parmigiano Reggiano

dairies will transform

you in a truly estimator.

The different flavors connected to the time of aging

from 12 months to 36 months or more is making

this cheese very versatile in the kitchen. A

curiosity connected to this huge wheels of

parmigiano is that each wheel needs 110 gallons of

cow milk to produce 99 pounds of cheese.

Since Roman times, the unique

conditions of the Parma region have

made it possible to produce the highest

quality of Prosciutto di Parma hams

that have been appreciated by

gourmets for century.

Visit to an “acetaia” vinegar house. Aceto Balsamico di

Modena is synonymous with the

culture and history of Modena

with ageing methods that have

been developed over the centuries.

Friday- abundance of the Mediterranean sea

and Graduation Ceremony

With a full baggage of new discovers and knowledge you are

having a half day to explore on your own and share your

experience during our final cooking class lesson in this

afternoon.

We are recommending the nearby cities of Montecatini Terme

with its thermal waters and beautiful spa, Pisa with the

Leaning Tower and Piazza dei Miracoli, Viareggio with its

balneal beaches and seaside promenade or Pietrasanta with its

marble sculptors and artists.

The Tuscan Archipelago with its seven islands is creating a

perfect environment for a multitude of fishes and sea food. We

are going to learn how to handle this

delicate ingredients and transform

them in a last delicious dinner all

together.

Wine tasting with your own private

Sommelier to learn the tasting

techniques through our senses – visual-

olfactory -taste and tactile sensation. We

are going awake our olfactory memory

and define the bouquet of the wine

through the most common descriptors.

Looking forward to hear your own wine

aphorism during the wine seminar.

A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.

Louis Pasteur

Graduation

Ceremony

Saturday

Change address and emails, crying and laughing, last photos

and good byes, lust cup of Cappuccino! Followed by departures!

Miss you already and see you next time!

Grazie mille Valentino & Larisa

Please inquire for dates, costs and availability of

this program.